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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23383330">Headaches: Both Literal and Figurative</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/DisturbedSalamander/pseuds/DisturbedSalamander'>DisturbedSalamander</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Subarashiki Kono Sekai | The World Ends With You</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Headaches &amp; Migraines, Hurt/Comfort, I gave Neku's family a dog but she's not important, Joshua just gets jealous, Joshua tries to help but is still an ass while doing so, Kinda, M/M, Neku hits him at one point, Sickfic, can be read as romantic or platonic</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 15:00:52</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,260</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23383330</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/DisturbedSalamander/pseuds/DisturbedSalamander</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>On one of Joshua's sudden visits to Neku's house, he finds his proxy less responsive and more snippy than usual. Joshua ends up getting hit in the face, used as a pillow due to his own mistakes, gets jealous of a dog, and keeps Neku company despite the other boy's protests.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kiryu "Joshua" Yoshiya &amp; Sakuraba Neku</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>43</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Headaches: Both Literal and Figurative</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Gazy_God_Retainer once again helping as my beta reader</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Joshua, as per usual, decided to make one of his unannounced visits to Neku's house--or, in the case of a locked door, <i>into</i> Neku's house. His stride across the plush carpet was only momentarily interrupted by the need to step over the attention-hogging old mutt that was curled up by the staircase leading to the Spicy Tuna Roll's room.</p><p>As he walked up the stairs, Joshua noticed simultaneously that 1. Neku had yet to comment on his familiar trek up the stairs, and 2. the lights in Neku's room were off and the door was only wide enough for the muzzle of a certain mange to pry open.</p><p>While the former wasn't out of character of his proxy, the ladder most certainly was.</p><p>Prying the door open slightly and opening his flip phone as a small source of light so as to not trip over anything, the first creak in the floor caused by his movement caused a shuffling noise from the bed and low groan from Neku's lump of a silhouette.<br/>
It was only around 9 at night, surely he wasn't trying to sleep already?</p><p>"Surely this is no way to act when a guest arrives, dear."</p><p>Joshua's teasing is met with a concerning lack of a retort.</p><p>"Zip it." Is muttered quietly after a few moments.</p><p>Ah. There it is.</p><p>Advancing towards the twin size bed against the wall and pulling over a chair from a nearby desk littered with sketchbooks, Joshua sets his phone down, light angled just enough to see Neku's face buried in his arms.</p><p>Placing a hand in Neku's hair, Joshua could immediately tell he had been in the shower not too long ago if the dampness in his hair was anything to go by. Upon contact with his scalp, Neku rested his head to the side in his arms allowing one eye to spy out and give the strongest 'fuck off' glare he could muster with an unfocused eye.</p><p>Taking a hint for once, Joshua's voice was slighty softer as he continued to torture the shorter male by talking, and started to run his hand through moisture-laden hair in small circles that the aforementioned boy was most definitely <i>not</i> enjoying, just as he most definitely did <i>not</i> have a skull-splitting headache plaguing him.</p><p>Shifting onto the small bed, Joshua pulls Neku up into his lap regardless of his quiet, dazed protests.</p><p>Despite the feeling of sandpaper rubbing against the inside of his head and the instant nausea caused by moving, Neku promptly swats at Joshua's face as hard as he can, and predictably, although against his wishes, he falls back into his lap with the heap of blankets wrapped around him.</p><p>A dramatic gasp, and then-<br/>
"How could you, Neku? You <i>wound</i> me." The accentuated word had raised slightly in volume, causing the boy below him to cringe in on himself. Rather than verbally apologizing, the silverette resumed massaging his head to temporarily dull the pain.</p><p>After a few minutes of somehow peaceful silence, The boy in his arms has a noticeably more relaxed shallow breathing in comparison to the strained noises from earlier.</p><p>"Bored of me already that you're nodding off so soon, dear? Falling asleep-certainly one of your more creative ways of getting me to leave."</p><p>A non committed groan answered back. There goes his plan to escape while the boy was asleep.</p><p>Seeing as he was now stuck with very little in his line of sight <i>and</i> reach, Joshua now had to mull over his options.</p><p>Fall asleep? Tempting, but no. </p><p>Roll off the bed? Also a bad idea, as he didn’t want to risk waking up Neku and have to deal with the consequences of an even grumpier proxy than he already was.</p><p> </p><p>Eventually, some time passes although he has no way of knowing except for the pool of drool that’s been slowly forming on his pant leg signifying that Neku has actually fallen asleep. </p><p>Well. In this situation, there’s only one option.<br/>
Snoop around the house now that the tangerine can’t stop him from doing so.</p><p>Slowly dragging his leg out from beneath Neku’s head and sliding off the edge of the bed, Joshua picks up his flip phone and heads back down the stairs, shooting a resentful glare at the dog when it perks it’s head up at him. Absolutely terrible-the worst. The fleabag will never get his seal of approval for as long as it holds the title as the only thing Neku gives affection to.</p><p>After lurking around for a while and finding nothing of interest, he decides to go check on said boy once again, and upon shining the phone screen at him again realizes he looks worse than before.</p><p>Hm. That’s probably not supposed to happen. </p><p>Going back downstairs, <i>again,</i> Josh raids the cupboards while thinking back to anytime Hanekoma had to deal with a customer of similar affliction. What’d he make? Hot ginger tea? Something like that. </p><p>Thankfully, the Sakuraba household had the right kind of tea packets, and he wasn’t in the mood to try and make it from scratch. Dropping the bag into the nearest hopefully clean mug, Joshua also hunted for some kind of medication to bring with the drink. Eventually finding a bottle with ‘headache reducer’ on the label, he set down two of the pills on a table in the living room with the mug, deciding it’d be easier to set up down here than risk getting stuck on the bed again. </p><p>With this decision, he realized he’d need to pick up the human lump and carry him down the stairs to avoid the alternative. </p><p>Did he do this because he had to? No, not necessarily. Did he do this because he <i>wanted</i> to? Maybe, but it’s not like he’d verbally or mentally confirm that, even to himself. It was simply because he couldn’t go and let his proxy suffer. For a third time. While within his proximity.  </p><p>Ignoring his train of thought and going back to Neku’s room for the third time that night, the blankets encasing him made it easier for him to pick him up, although getting <i>back down</i> took longer than he was willing to admit. Setting Neku up on the couch and taking his place next to him, Joshua started poking at his cheek to wake him up.</p><p>“Rise and shine, dear.” A highly irritated hiss sounded after a few more pokes. “Don’t get huffy with me-and don’t hit me again, either. Blowing up at me, not even knowing my intentions. How rude.” Passing the mug to Neku once he finally cracked his eyes open and stopped non-verbally complaining, Joshua busied himself and sent Hanekoma a message, going back through their chat history until he heard Neku set the mug back down. </p><p>“Aren’t you going to take the medicine? I had to spend my precious time finding that troublesome bottle.”</p><p>“Can’t.”</p><p>“Why not?”</p><p>“Rebounds.” Joshua waits for an explanation, but it never comes. </p><p>“And those are…?”</p><p>“I-Never mind. The tea’ll be enough.” Neku repositions himself, and Joshua goes back to his own devices without giving it much thought.<br/>
Unbeknownst to him, Neku’s will to stay awake was waning, and was taken off guard when a sudden weight dropped onto his shoulder. Looking down at the object of offense, he sees Neku’s slumped over form resting it’s head on him. Sighing and once again pulling Neku into his lap, he sends one more text to Mr.H. </p><p>His options now?</p><p>Fall Asleep? Tempting. Joshua decides to go with that answer this time.</p>
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